• THE LINDA GOLDFIELD: ITS AURIFEROUS AND OTHER MINERAL DEPOSITS . • Launceston, October, 1886. Geological FeatuTes. IT may be observed that, in adopting the above heading for this Report, I was influenced by the fact tbat the principal gold deposits do not occur on Mount Lyell at all, but on a spur runDlng northerly from Mount Owen, tbe eastern flanks of which spur are drained by trihutaries falling , into the Linda River, and these watercourses have been fouod gold-bearing, whereas similar tributaries on the western flanks of Mount Lyell empty themselves also into the Linda, but so far have not produced any gold. Mount Lyell proper occupies a position within the jUllction of the Linda with tbe King River (see chart) and easterly of Mount Owen; and it may likewise he deemed advisable to state tbat the crests of most of the prominent mountains comprising the 'Vestern Cordilleras of Tasmania, and named after eminent men of science, are not composed of quartzites or other allied rocks, but are invariably capped by massh'e beds of coarse conglom­ erates whicb overlie several bundred feet in tbickness the quartzites and other metamorphic schists. It is a question whether these conglomerates belong to the Silurian era, as the angles of their dip average from 25 to 40 Jegrees only, and true Silurian slates and sandstones at lesser altitudes observe an inclination of from 65 to 80 degrees. These latter un approacbin~ the sea coast are represented in auriferous country, alld I found the first;...petrifaction on the West Coast in the same. These beds invariably dip to the west (whilst the former, conglomerates, dip all to the south), but in themselves they exhibit (as shown in the sidlini(s) botb synclinal and anticlinal sections. At the road camp balf-way between the King River G. M. Company and the Linda goldfield, green­ stone (diabase) rests immediately on the barren quartzose scbists, wbilst the country towards that gold mining claim has been protruded by several dioritic dykes, and the Silurian schists in that vicinity have become distinctly metalliferous, as seveml gullies (Lynch's Creek) falling into the Queen River have been wrought with sometimes considerable success, and in several instances their hacklyand quartziferous gold has been traced up to auriferous quartz veins, npon which all operations had to cease on account of the impossibility of transporting crushing macbinery by means of the mostly impassable tracks, which are now only being improved tardily, and a road made from Long Bay, Macquarie Harbour; this fact bas more than anything else retarded the development of a large and evidently very rich gold and mineral district, as alluded to below. In numerous instances fine samples of rich gold WQre shown ail coming from a wiue area of country, embracing ~'.lOUllt Sorel1 in the south, wuere, at Flannigan's Creek, the recent alluvial is paying well, and Hall's party are working an old pliocene channel 600 feet aboTe that creek with lDarked success. Going north Fleveral miles south of ~!ount Owen, an "Iron Blow" was discovered, witb some gold in the gullies, but owing to the difficulty of getting supplies there it was abandoned. Then we have the Linda goldfield prope,', which, besides it. j,,,nous "Iron Blow," should support .. large mining population if water could be made available all the year round. All the gJIllies . " fed" by tbe Iron Blow on the west of the Linda River ,yould have been payable or rich ' if the claims bad, a large supply of water and a good pressure to hydranlic the beds of gravel, over 70 feet in heigbt in places. Crossing the northern connecting spur of the Monnt Owen and North Mount Lyell-under which Watson's alluvial claims are located, and wbich at the higher point have produced the heaviest quartz gold in this locality (one exqui,ite specimen, fit for any Museum, weighing 6~ ozs., of which about 4 ozS". was pure crystaIlin~ gold),-several gullies and older deposits (Evert & Co.) have been worked with great success, as failing from that divide into the Queen River. Still further north, at ~Iount Sedgwick, it was reported to me that an auriferous Iron / Blow had heen found; al •• still further away similar deposits occurred at the head of the Henty River; then crossing the Pieman River, in the upper forks of the Meredith River, under Mount Livingstone, land has been taken up on a similar formation; then, as is well known to me, an " Iron Blow" occurs at the Rocky River, where the largest Tasmanian nnggets were found, which, it will be remembered, were considerably encrustated by iron ores; and lastly, "Iron Blows" occur crossing Long Plains, and in the vicinity of Specimen Reef. • For two or three years past I have had my attention drawn to the ferruginous character of the " gold found across Long Plains towards and beyond the Whyte River, and this discovery of the "Iron Blow" at Linda may, it is earnestly hoped, be the precursor of other and .. valuable discoveries. In several localities, for instance, payable gold has been traced up creeks and gulJies until an intersection took place of a mass of iron, whereupon the gravels ceased to be remunerative, which in itself is a very suggestive feature if regarded in the light ·of the Linda discovery. The Mount Lyell Gold Mining Company's Gold Depositl, Linda Gold Fuld. These compri.. a very extensive and, so far as they have heen tested in the surface workings to a depth of a little less than 40 feet, quite phenomenally rich gold deposits, differing either in a geological or mineralogical point of view from any other I have had occasion to examine for a '. long period past, or that have heen recorded by scientists in the mining world at large. These deposits occur between metamorphic schists of a light colour at the footwall, and .imilar strata intercalated by quartzites and bunches of pyrites· at the western hanging-wall. The outcrop of the "formation "t disappears beneath, or is capped by a thickly bedded stratum oj con­ glomerates and brown hard sandstones. The outcrop of what may be termed a huge fissure of this iron formation observes a strike of North 20' West, and it has been traced ·in that direction to continue at least for I ~ miles. For tbe whole of this distance it evidently maintains its auriferous character, as Cooney's, White's, Henry'S, and other creeks, .. hich fall into the Linda River (see sketch plan), have all been and are now producing very satisfactory yields of gold whenever an ample supply of ..ater is available for sluicing purposes. The distance of one mile and a half has been mentioned as the limit to which this "formation" has been traced north,:): but strong evidence exists to prove that it continues still farther north, because alluvial gold, or rather "j+rmalion gold," has been found in the hiII sides and in gullies in very paying quantities. It may be mentioned that the gold tbus found, both on the Linda "atershed and on that falling into the Queen River, is of a very fille character, and of a similar description throughout, and not waterworn. The gullies referred to are situate from 3 to 4 miles north from the Mount Lyell Gold Mining Company's prospecting and reward areas. As a matter offact the g-old is of sucb a uniform description as would point to only one source, viz. , the disintegration and decomposition of the" formation" at the surface. The surface outcrops of tbis "formation" II throughout are cbaracterised by the 9ccurrence of a very little quartz of a wavy character, baryta taking its place predominantly. These singular deposits consist, at or near the surfacp, of immense blocks of bluish black iron ore, exhibiting in places a kind of stalactitic structure (hematite), but auriferous to a degree; some of these blocks exceed 15 to 20 tons in weight, and through being sundered, from atmospherical action and denudation, other aud smaller fragments compose a very massive outcrop; others, again , have been left by further denudation on the hiJI sides, or found resting-places in the alluvial gullies below. On the south side of Cooney's Creek tbe Mount Lyell Gold Mining Company are enabled, from the steepness of the hill, to obtain "backs ,. from the level of their camp for a height of about 350 feet at the south end of the outcrop; considerably more height of stopes can be obtained north of Cooney's Creek up to the" Iron Knobs," which characterise Mr. Curtain's section in that direction; so that it is very • • clear that extraordinarily large quantities of gold-bearing ores are available for systematic mining operations, and subsequent treatment for gold extraction. At the level mentioned the quantity of ore is no doubt large, and can be obtained by means of adits ; if, however, a site is chosen some 20 or 30 chains lower down towards the Linda River, then it is quite evident that an almost inexhaustible , supply of ore can be got for manipulation. The longitudinal extent, great width, and present visible neight of these gold-bearing deposits being so very satisfactory, it only remains for me to describe the composition and width of this unique gold "formation;' in order to permit the authorities and the general public to arrive at something like an estimate of the capabilities of this, our latest and-so far-richest gold discovery. • It appears that Messrs. Crotty & Co., having discovered "free gold" amongst the con­ glomeratic gravels and iron blocks on the northern slope of a spur descending from Mount O ..e n, sluiced away the surlace deposits, leaving the larger blocks behind, some of which were subsequently found to be gold-bearing, to a depth of from 2 to 6 feet; and tbough, owing to the extreme fineness I ' and lightness of this gold, fully 70 per cent.